Exercise and the Heart’s Health

 

Exercise plays an essential role in the health of all of the body’s systems. This includes the health of one’s heart, which is perhaps the most influenced organ in terms of how much difference exercise can make in its well-being.

 

Exercise and the Heart’s Health

Maintaining a consistent exercise regimen is one of the most beneficial things you can do to maintain your heart’s health over the course of a lifetime. Doing so means that you’re safeguarding your ability to stay active into your golden years.

 

If you’re curious about how exercise interacts with heart health, take a look at this primer describing some of the interplay.

 

The Benefits of Regular Exercise

 

Exercise carries some very strong benefits for the health of one’s heart. Some of these benefits include:

 

• Lower blood pressure
• Lessening the risk of developing diabetes
• Reducing inflammation throughout the body
• Maintaining a healthy body weight

 

Exercise has been identified as one of the primary ways that individuals can avoid developing heart disease later in life. It joins other efforts, such as smoking cessation and reduced alcohol consumption, as one of the primary ways in which one can maintain a healthy heart.

 

Additional Benefits

 

There are a number of other benefits offered by regular exercise in terms of how they impact heart health. Some of these benefits include

 

• Increasing high-density lipoprotein to help control triglycerides
• Slows heart rate and lowers blood pressure
• Reduces stress hormones that can place additional stress on the heart
• Improves the muscles ability to pull oxygen out of the blood

 

All of these factors contribute to a much lower chance of experiencing some kind of traumatic cardiac event in one’s lifetime. Examples include heart attack and cardiac arrest. In addition, exercise naturally contributes to weight loss. This has an added benefit of reducing one’s chances of experiencing negative health consequences associated with obesity.

 

Exercises that Benefit the Heart

 

The most beneficial kinds of exercises for the heart are cardiovascular exercises that get it pumping to a healthy degree. This includes exercises like swimming, jogging, and cycling.

 

Combining these types of exercises with moderate weight lifting and other types of resistance training can doubly benefit the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system.

 

In addition, soft exercises such as stretching and yoga can also benefit heart health over time. If you happen to be pregnant, you can still do similar types of exercise routines, but at a more moderate pace. Consulting with your physician about what types of exercises might explicitly benefit you in this regard can help you decide which ones to undergo and how often.

 

How Often Should I Exercise?

 

This oftentimes varies from person to person. However, getting a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day is typically described as the minimum. Five days a week of this is thought of as the preferred frequency.

 

In terms of moderate weight lifting and muscle endurance exercises, engaging in these twice a week should be enough to give you results.

 

You should be able to feel your progress with this type of work after just a few days or weeks. There are many ways that people chart their own progress with these types of exercises. These include:

 

• Target heart rate: This is a barometer that becomes more difficult to reach as one becomes more fit. This can be a good way to measure progress.
• Repetitions: Repetitions of certain exercises can be a good way to measure how much progress one is making. Counting laps or crunches offers a way to measure fitness that is easy and fun.
• Body composition: You can take measurements of one’s physical fitness by observing how the body changes fat into muscle. Interestingly, this doesn’t always equate to weight loss, as muscle is actually heavier than fat.

 

Although exercise is generally beneficial, it is possible to overdo it. Pay attention to your heart rate and whether or not you feel truly at ease when you’re exercising. If you’re able to talk with your physician regarding some possible daily targets, that would work well for your own situation. If you feel fatigued or sore for more than a few days after you exercise, you might be overdoing it.

 

The Heart Experts of LA

 

Apex Cardiology and its award-winning team of heart health experts are fully invested in maintaining top-of-the-line cardiac stress testing in LA for patients and their hearts. If you’re interested in discussing with one of our cardiology doctors the steps you can take to being heart healthy, contact us today in order to set up an appointment.